Boredom

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Transcript of Boredom

Boredom and Depression 10% v 100% What is it like? "certain sensations are slumbers that fill up our mind like a fog and prevent us from thinking, from acting, from clearly and simply being" Pessoa Boredom being Evil "Boredom is the root of all evil" Kierkegaard Connected to the Meaning of Life a very philosophical question Pascal doomed to boredom without God modern phenomenon - first world problem phenomenology - the philosophical study of the structures of subjective experience and consciousness Lars Svendsen mood a fine ash - Bernanos can be bored without being aware and without knowing why Similar to melancholy in that it doesn't have a specific subject "Boredom is not just a state of mind; it is also a characteristic of the world". often cited as the reason for crime can both start and end creates evil in society - drug abuse, alcohol abuse, smoking, eating disorders, promiscuity, vandalism, depression, aggression, animosity, violence, suicide, risk taking behaviour acedia - the worst sin "the sorrow of the world" Aquinas - Weltschmerz Loss of meaning Hamann and Cioran - boredom is superior and harder loss of bearings when we cannot do what we ant to do or have to do something we don't want to ie. philosophy readings "To suffer without suffering, to want without desire, to think without reason" Pessoa seems trivial and vulgar Pascal, Rousseau, Kant, Schopenhauer, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Benjamin and Adorno modern phenomenon Kierkegaard Kant Schopenhauer fulfillment of desires = boredom or suffering Nietzsche "A generation that cannot endure boredom will be a generation of little men" Bertrand Russell "Literature is a great deal more illuminative than quantitative sociology or psychological studies" Pessoa, Leopardi, Proust, Ibsen, Dostoevsky, Chekov, Baudelaire Writers who deal with boredom Other philosophers who saw literature as important Schopenhauer, Sartre, Plato, Nietzsche (many others blur this line) pleasures substitute for God but this only leads us further away diversions - illusion of happiness suffering is preferable because it is something (?) moral philosophy man (sic.) has to work - not just pragmatically but existentially perception of time in boredom Mann suggests we frequestly change our habits boredom is 'demonic pantheism' plebeians bore other people but people of rank bore themselves - boredom requires reflection escape through creating pleasure need characterises the lives of the masses and boredom characterises the lives of those of rank Leopardi Schopenhauer felt Leopardi understood him lack of satisfaction in the real world leads to creation of imaginary worlds ie. religion & art "Boredom is an expression of a profound despair at not finding anything that can satisfy the soul's boundless needs" = the human spirit is greater than the universe Boredom boredom is 'death within life'

would prefer suffering

boredom is for noble souls the mob can only experience idleness elitist view of boredom boredom is 'the unpleasant calm of the soul' before creative acts lesser natures flee from boredom Work and play to escape ennui but when these are satisfied, some of us desire a third state which is the artist's and philosopher's vision of happiness. eternity and delight